Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to ink cartridge control and more particularly to determining ink jet nozzle control data for an ink cartridge that can be used to compensate for non-functional ink jet nozzles.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet ink cartridge includes a number of ink jet nozzles that are fired in a predetermined pattern in response to image data to generate an image. The predetermined pattern takes into account that each ink jet nozzle is not fired on every pass, and that the ink jet nozzle array can pass over the same location more than once. The printer driver of a personal computer receives image data in a standard format and generates printer control data based on the number of nozzles in the ink cartridge and other ink cartridge parameters.
If one or more ink jet nozzles of an ink cartridge are non-functional, such as because of damage or clogging, then the image quality generated by that ink cartridge will suffer from level of image quality degradation. This image quality degradation may or may not be noticeable to the human eye. As a result of this image quality degradation, ink cartridge manufacturers and others set levels for an acceptable number and density of non-functional ink jet nozzles for a given ink cartridge. If the number of non-functional ink jet nozzles exceeds this predetermined number, then the ink cartridge is not used, which decreases ink cartridge yield rates and drives up the cost of manufacturing ink cartridges.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for compensating for non-functional ink cartridge ink jet nozzles or other suitable print mechanisms are provided that overcome known problems with non-functional ink jet nozzles.
In particular, a system and method for compensating for non-functional ink cartridge ink jet nozzles are disclosed that use other functional ink jet nozzles of the ink cartridge instead of the non-functional nozzle in order to allow ink cartridges that would otherwise be discarded to be used, thereby increasing ink cartridge yield rates.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a system for compensating for non-functional ink cartridge ink jet nozzles is provided. The system includes an ink jet compensation system that receives ink jet nozzle failure data, such as the coordinates of each nozzle that is clogged or damaged, and that generates nozzle correction data, such as a nozzle to fire instead of each failed nozzle for a given print pattern or a nozzle firing sequence that compensates for the failed nozzle, such as by printing at the location of the failed nozzle during a subsequent or previous printer head pass. An ink control system receives the nozzle correction data and image data and generates printer control data, such as by receiving image data in a standard format for printing and modifying the printer control data that would be generated if all ink jet heads were functioning properly to include the nozzle correction data.
The present invention provides many important technical advantages. One important technical advantage is a system for compensating for non-functional ink cartridge ink jet nozzles that uses functional ink jet nozzles to compensate for non-functional ink jet nozzles, such as by firing an adjacent functional nozzle instead of a non-functional nozzle, or by firing a functional nozzle during a previous or subsequent printer head pass so as to print in the location that the non-functional ink jet nozzle would have printed. The present invention thus allows ink jet nozzle failure data for each ink cartridge to be generated and used to compensate for the non-functional ink jet nozzles, thereby increasing ink cartridge yield.